The incorrect positioning of teeth or the misalignment of teeth between the upper dental arch and lower dental arch are known as malocclusions. Malocclusions are categorized by dental health professionals in three classifications: Class I—the jaw relationship is normal but individual teeth (whether located on the upper or lower dental arch) have problems such as spacing, crowding, etc., and do not achieve a good fit with the corresponding teeth on the opposite arch. Class II—commonly referred to as an overbite, the upper jaw is not in proper position, and an increased projection of the upper teeth in front of the lower teeth results. This lack of contact between the front teeth allows them to keep erupting or extruding, from the gum line into the mouth until they contact something, usually the palate. This over-extrusion, especially of the lower front teeth, requires the orthodontist to place intrusive forces on these teeth during treatment. Finally, Class III—wherein the upper dental arch rests behind the lower dental arch when the mouth is closed, commonly referred to as an underbite.
Class 1 malocclusions are treated with braces (that is the combination of brackets, placed on individual teeth, and an archwire connecting each of the brackets) that are gradually adjusted to urge the movement of the teeth into their desired positions over a period of months or years. Class II or III malocclusions are also corrected slowly over an extended period of time, but by a vector force application apparatus that applies a low pulling or pushing pressure vector force to the offending jaw into its proper bite position. This vector appliance thus actually forces the jawbones and muscles to physically adapt or “learn” the correct bite positioning. Since commonly, Class I malocclusions are found in patients that also have Class II or Class III malocclusions, these misalignments of jaws and teeth are treated together wherein the brackets and/or archwires of the braces serve as the anchor point for the vector appliance.
There was a bite-correcting appliance known as the stainless steel “Jasper Jumper” that gained popularity because of its low cost, adjustability, ease to repair and mostly because its results are garnered easily and in a short period of time. This is discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,646. This was a non-removable bite-correcting appliance secured to braces. This prior art patent also teaches a linear force appliance on a retainer. (FIG. 17) The problem with this prior art device was that the linear forces pushing up on the distal of the retainer, caused the front part of the retainer to fall out of the mouth. This appliance was never marketed and was prone to structural failure (coil breakage) because the stainless-steel parts work hardened during the thousands of times the patient opened and closed their mouth during the corrective period. There were subsequent advances in this technology as detailed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,529,253, 8,721,326 and 8,905,755 incorporated herein by reference.
These devices, known as braces, have drawbacks in that they are costly, labor intensive for the dentist and require frequent visits to the orthodontist for fittings, adjustments and repair. Also, once installed, these remained with the patient until removed by the orthodontist. This often precluded the wearer from participating in sports for period of time. Physical oral intimacy was also compromised. Furthermore, failures in the appliance required in-mouth repairs by an orthodontist which is costly, time consuming, uncomfortable and expensive.
Henceforth, an improved dental apparatus that can treat Class II or Class III malocclusions without the need for braces, that can be repaired outside of the patient's mouth, that can be temporarily removed by the patient, that can be fitted, calibrated, set up and adjusted outside the patient's mouth prior to installation, and that is inexpensive, and that aid in retaining the retainers on the patient's teeth, would fulfill a long-felt need in the dental industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.